To anyone other than a genealogist, getting excited when you learn about a tragedy in your family history is kind of morbid. But I wouldn’t say the word “excited” is exactly the right term. Interested. Fascinated. Connected. In July of 1870, my third great grandfather, Orlando Shrum, was a successful young brickmason in Halbert Township…
A few weeks ago, we moved my older sister out of the apartment she and Mom shared for the past 3 years. Mom died this past December. My sister didn’t really need that second bedroom, and the rent was higher than she could really afford. So,we helped her get settled down the road in a…
What exactly constitutes an heirloom? I have my grandmother’s beautiful art-deco engagement ring I was entrusted with because I was named for her. I wear it every day. I also have my paternal great-grandmother’s wedding band that was handed down to me. Her fingers were so small and thin I can’t even get it onto…
The days are chock full here at RootsTech, but it adds up to really fun stuff! Sessions I attended three sessions Wednesday and would have done a third, but quite honestly, this girl’s head was swimming with all the information I was trying to take in. In a recap, first, the fabulous Judy Russell talked…
I hit a wall around 7pm Tuesday while Amy Johnson Crow and I were comparing cat photos on our phone. I had been up since 4:30am Eastern time. I travelled roughly 2,200 miles. I had a full day of check in and then the media dinner. All so fun and exciting. But now my body…
In 1926, Mrs. G. J. Wilkins of Atlanta Georgia wrote to the Office of Indian Affairs, “My great-grandfather on my father’s side was a full-blooded Indian with tribal relations with the Cherokees of Georgia.” Mrs. Wilkins was referring to Abraham Helton, known by his family as Young Chicken Chetiganete. He was born in 1843. He…